


We Happy Few

by RedRowan



Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Community: daredevilkink, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 14:28:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7896187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRowan/pseuds/RedRowan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Matt and Danny start dating, Matt worries that his not-so-spotless record with monogamy will end up tearing them apart.  Instead, Danny proposes an open relationship.</p>
<p>They both get more than they bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Happy Few

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this prompt at the kinkmeme:
> 
> http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/8423.html?thread=17124327#cmt17124327
> 
> "So I want Matt, Jessica, Luke and Danny to be in a disgustingly happy, polyamorous relationship. Everyone loves everyone. Everyone has sex with everyone. Just kill me with happy domestic bliss of them being goobers."

Danny Rand, Matt decides early on, is made of sunshine. He laughs and quips easily, and is genuinely disappointed when humanity doesn’t live up to his expectations. Even with the chaos of the Hand and Stick’s return and Elektra’s resurrection going on around them, Danny manages to shrug and say, “We’ll figure it out.”

Matt isn’t really surprised when it’s Danny who saves them all. The Hand seem to bring darkness wherever they go, and Danny can literally light up a room. And, apparently, chi-punch a demon out of Elektra.

Matt sends Elektra away with Stick (who has a black eye, thanks to a pissed-off Jessica), and they drag themselves home, Luke carrying Jessica (who took an arrow to her leg) and Danny exhausted from channeling a truly enormous amount of energy. They wind up sprawled out in Danny’s penthouse, Luke bandaging Jessica’s leg, and Danny falling asleep leaning against Matt’s shoulder. And maybe it’s the fact that Danny has literally just laid some of Matt’s demons to rest, or maybe it’s the fact that the past few weeks have constantly carried the scent of the Luke and Jessica Sexual Tension Show, or maybe it’s the fact that the Immortal Iron Fist is made of sunshine, but Matt presses a kiss to Danny’s sweaty mop of hair.

Danny stirs drowsily, and tilts his face up to Matt, before he gently kisses Matt’s mouth.

“Oh, God, get a room,” says Jessica, but Matt’s learned to decipher her carefully-calibrated snarkiness, and there’s no malice in her right now. He mentally translates it to, “I’m happy for you two.”

Luke just chuckles.

The frostiness between Luke and Jessica sets back in once Jessica’s leg is bandaged, so Luke leaves soon after. Jessica stretches out on the couch with a bottle of bourbon that Matt finds for her.

And Matt sleeps in Danny’s bed that night. Both of them are too tired to try anything, but they’ve tipped over the edge, and neither of them are willing to let go of the other yet.

In the morning, Matt hears Jessica take a call and head out, and he takes full advantage of finally being alone with Danny.

Danny, predictably, treats the new development in their relationship as the best thing ever.

“I’m going to date the fuck out of you,” he says as they’re sparring, a few days after the defeat of the Hand.

“You don’t have to do that,” Matt says, dodging a spinning kick.

“I want to. Seriously, I want to do all that romantic stuff. Buy you flowers, take you on long walks in the park. I’m gonna be the best boyfriend.”

Boyfriend.

Matt’s never been good at being a boyfriend.

It’s a fact he manages to hide for the first few weeks. Danny takes him out on dates (“Yeah, like we’re actual adults!”), sends him flowers at his office, and fucks his brains out. Jessica constantly threatens to gag on the cuteness. Luke says they look happy (and there’s an element of sadness to him when he says it, Matt can tell). And Matt realizes that this is important to him, that Danny is important, and he needs to act like an adult for once in his life.

“I want to talk to you,” he says, after they’ve been meditating together.

“OK?”

“Look, I…Dan, you make me really happy. And I - I’m not good at this sort of thing.”

“What sort of thing?”

“Uh, relationships. Actual, monogamous relationships. Actually, that’s the problem, I’ve never been good at monogamous, and I don’t want you to - I don’t want you to get into this without knowing what’s…what I’m like.”

“You mean…not-monogamous?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

Danny shrugs. “OK.”

That wasn’t what Matt was expecting.

“OK?” he says.

“Yeah. I mean, I like you, so if having you means not-monogamous you, then we’re not monogamous.”

“You’d be OK with that?”

“Sure. Why not? Do we need to work something out? Like a system?”

“Uh…”

“‘Cause, my feeling is that we should probably tell each other. You know, if we hook up with somebody else.”

“Uh…”

“And what are your feelings on threesomes?”

There are times that Matt has to remind himself that Danny didn’t grow up in the States (or in any contemporary Earth-bound culture). This is one of them.

They agree to tell each other about any other partners, and Matt thinks he might be in love with Danny.

Luke and Danny work together uptown a lot, so Matt isn’t surprised when Danny calls him one night to tell him he’ll be sleeping over at Luke’s. He thinks, vaguely, that he should probably be jealous, but when Danny shows up on his doorstep the next morning smelling of Luke, he can barely stop himself from tearing Danny’s clothes off before the door closes.

Jessica, on the other hand, does not take the discovery well. No-one tells her, she just figures it out, and it’s a few days later that she lands on Matt’s roof and slams open the door. Matt can smell the bourbon on her breath and the anger radiating off her.

“Rand and Cage are sleeping together,” she announces.

“I know,” Matt says.

“Wait, what?”

“Danny told me. Before it happened.”

“And you’re just - OK with it?”

Matt shrugs, and decides “I actually find it kind of hot,” is not the right answer.

“Danny and I talked about this. We’re in an open relationship, it’s fine with me if he’s sleeping with Luke too.”

“What the -“ Jessica shakes her head. “Fucking hell.”

“Jess…” Matt reaches out to her, then reconsiders it. “I…thank you for coming to tell me. I appreciate it, that you thought I should know. But I’m fine.”

“Huh,” she huffs. Then she pauses. “Open relationship, huh?”

“Yeah. It…seemed the best thing, for the two of us.”

“How’s that working out?”

“Pretty well.”

Jess steps into his space, and Matt never realized how much he liked the scent of bourbon.

“So…that mean you’re allowed to screw around, too?” she says, the tip of her finger pressing into his chest. Matt makes a quick calculation of the amount of alcohol he can smell, and it’s only a little more than her usual level. She’s not actually drunk yet, just wearing her protective coat against the world.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

Jess grabs him around the back of his head and kisses him, hard. The force of it makes him feel weak at the knees.

“Good,” she says.

She marches him into the bedroom and throws him onto the bed. She strips off her clothes and climbs on top of him, and he lets her have her way with him, working out all her anger and disappointment. She doesn’t stay, just gets dressed with a mumbled, “Sorry,” and flees up the stairs. Matt rolls over with a groan and calls Danny.

“I slept with Jess,” he says.

“What? Oh, wow. How was it?”

“I think she broke my back.”

Danny laughs. “That good, huh?” 

“Yeah. Look, she knows about you and Luke. Wasn’t too pleased about it.”

“Oh. I’ll give him a heads up.”

“Thanks, Dan.”

“So…what would happen if I came over now?”

“I’ve just been pulverized into the mattress. If you can figure out a way to get yourself off without me moving, be my guest.”

Danny lets himself in, and Matt moans a greeting from the bed. Danny takes off his clothes and slides into bed next to Matt.

“So, Luke and Jess were a thing?” he says, tucking his head against Matt’s shoulder.

“No,” says Matt. “They’re still a thing. They’re just not willing to admit it.”

Danny sighs. “They’d be really great together.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Luke admits the truth about his past to Matt after one of the Harlem gangsters figures out his secret. He tells Matt the tragic story of Carl Lucas, and says he’s innocent. Matt believes him.

Matt uses every trick he knows to get Carl Lucas’ conviction overturned. It’s a lot of work, and he doesn’t have Foggy to help carry the load, so there are a lot of long nights when he sends Danny or Jess out to defend Hell’s Kitchen while he and Luke hole up with piles of documents. Matt gets excited when he thinks he sees the way out, the one loophole that could free Luke.

“You’re turned on by this,” Luke teases as Matt flips through documents. Yes, he was right, this could absolutely work.

“Well, I got that law degree for a reason,” Matt retorts. He sits back, triumphant. “This is it.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Positive.” He’s smiling broadly.

“Man, you lawyers are into some kinky shit,” says Luke.

“Yeah, the library is basically our porn hub,” jokes Matt.

“Knew it. Knew you were just doing this to get off over depositions.”

“The company isn’t bad either,” Matt says.

And Luke is leaning forward, his knee brushing Matt’s. Matt leans in, too, and Luke catches his mouth with his own. Luke wraps an arm around his waist, and he slides forward, straddling Luke’s lap and pushing his tongue into Luke’s mouth. He barely notices Luke unbuttoning his shirt until he feels Luke’s hands on his skin, then Luke stands up, holding Matt up with one arm, and carries him into the bedroom.

Matt wakes up to his phone ringing Danny’s name while Luke is still asleep.

“I slept with Jess,” says Danny.

“I…slept with Luke.”

“Oh. Wow. Yay?”

“Yeah. Go team.” They both burst into laughter. “You want to come over?” 

“Nah, I think I gotta meditate for a while - you were not kidding about what happens when Jess plays rough.”

“OK. Go channel your chi.”

“Love you,” Danny says, and Matt’s chest tightens.

“What?”

“I said I love you.”

There’s a long pause as Matt tries to convince himself that this is really happening.

“I love you too, Dan.”

Matt manages to smooth things over with Jess by bringing her a bourbon peace offering. She offers to share the bottle, and they wind up in bed. She plays a little nicer this time around.

The four of them stay caught in the precarious balance for months. Danny and Matt are the official couple, but Jess and Luke are frequent visitors to one or the other, in a strange Venn diagram arrangement that means that Jess and Luke still haven’t resolved their own issues. Two months in, and there are four toothbrushes at Matt’s apartment and at Danny’s penthouse, and three at Jess and Luke’s apartments. Three months in, Danny buys Jess and Luke sets of silk sheets so that Matt’s skin won’t be irritated in anyone’s bed. Five months in, and there are drawers at everyone’s apartment filled with clean clothes belonging to at least two of the others. Unspoken, everyone agrees that they only sleep together in pairs, so that the fourth one won’t feel left out.

When Matt gets Luke’s conviction overturned, they all go out together. There’s a simmering tension all night, and Matt wonders if tonight is the night that everything breaks, but it isn’t, and he winds up at Danny’s place that night.

Matt’s old law school rival Larry Cranston turns up in Hell’s Kitchen, and his fear gas rips through Matt when he and Jess confront Cranston. Jess grabs Matt, fighting demons only he can sense, and jumps him away from Cranston, who is already fleeing. She takes him back to her place, and he wakes up in her bed, shaky and hung over. She listens to him as he tells her what the fear gas put him through. She nods, stroking his hair, and tells Matt the whole story about Kilgrave and Luke. When she’s done, they lie curled together on her bed.

“I never thought…after everything, that I’d ever get a chance to be with someone I…” She trails off. Matt brushes his fingertips over her hair.

“I love you,” he says. “And Danny does, too.” So does Luke, but he doesn’t say that.

“Yeah. Me too. Both of you.”

Things finally come to a head after they defeat Cranston. Jessica gets a face full of fear gas, but once it wears off, insists on going home alone. Matt lets Danny and Luke go home together, and is woken just before dawn by a call from Danny.

“Jess is here. Uh…she’s in bad shape.” Danny holds out the phone, and Matt can hear Jess yelling at Luke, telling him he’s not half the man Matt and Danny are.

“I’ll be right over,” Matt says.

When he arrives, he can smell the bourbon on Jess, mixed with vomit. She’s on the floor, barely coherent, and struggling against Luke and Danny.

“What’s going on?” Matt says.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” says Danny.

“It looks like you’re trying to strip a drunk woman.”

“She threw up on herself,” says Luke, sounding exasperated. “We’re trying to put her to bed and get her clothes to the laundry downstairs.”

“OK, let me help.” 

Jess is a little more compliant with Matt, so he manages to coax her out of her tank top and jeans. Danny takes the clothes to the laundry room while Luke picks her up and carries her to the bedroom. When Matt tries to leave, she reaches out and holds his wrist tight, not quite enough to break it, but enough that it’s a concern. Sighing, Matt kicks off his shoes and climbs into bed with her, letting her rest her head on his chest.

“You saw him, didn’t you?” he whispers after Luke closes the door on them. Jess nods miserably.

“He kept telling me to smile,” she slurs.

“He’s dead, Jess. He tried to hurt Trish, so you killed him. He’s gone.”

Jess’ hand flops up to her head, tapping the side of her skull. “He’s always in here.”

And there’s nothing Matt can say to that, so he just holds her tight until she falls asleep. He gently extricates himself, and slips out to the living room. A gust of cold air catches him, and he realizes that Luke’s kitchen window is broken.

“Kilgrave?” Luke says, sweeping up the broken glass.

“Yeah.”

Luke sighs. “Part of me wishes we could bring the motherfucker back just so she could kill him again.”

“Wouldn’t kill the one in here,” Matt says, tapping the side of his head.

The front door opens, and Danny comes in.

“Clothes are in the dryer, they’ll be done in forty-five minutes,” he says, but even his cheerfulness is muted.

“So what actually happened?” says Matt.

“Jess called Luke and yelled at him,” Danny starts.

“Among other things, said that you and Danny were better men than me,” Luke says neutrally.

“And then she crashed through the window and landed on the fridge,” says Danny. “That was when I called you.”

“Right,” says Matt. “And then there was more yelling and some vomiting?”

“Pretty much,” says Luke.

“OK,” says Matt. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. Danny and I are going to go home, and you’re going to have a very long talk with Jess when she wakes up.”

“We don’t need to -“

“Yeah, you do,” says Danny. “Look, we love you. Both of you. So you two need to work your shit out, because we’re getting sick of the two of you dancing around each other.” Luke is silent, and Matt is certain he’s glowering at the two of them. “OK? Good talk.”

“You love me?” says Luke.

“Yeah,” says Matt.

Luke gives a little “huh.”

“We should get going,” says Danny.

In the cab to Danny’s penthouse, Danny takes Matt’s hand.

“Think this is going to work?” he says.

“Don’t know,” Matt says. “But…it’s the best shot we’ve got.”

They sleep until noon, then Danny makes breakfast before they spar together. It’s a nice, leisurely day, stretching on into the evening, until Matt’s phone rings with Jess’ name.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he says.

“Fine. Uh, Luke told me what you guys did. So, thanks.”

“It’s…it’s what we do.”

“Yeah, and Luke’s going to need a place to stay tonight.”

“Why?”

“We broke his bed.”

Matt realizes what she’s telling him, and bursts out laughing.

“What?” says Danny.

“Luke and Jess broke his bed.”

“Oh, thank God.”

“He needs a place to stay.”

“Tell him to come here! Tell her to come here!”

“Jess?”

“Yeah?” comes her voice.

“Do you guys want to stay at Danny’s tonight?”

“You going to be there?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“We’ll be over in a few.”

Matt hangs up, still grinning. “They’re coming over.”

Danny laughs and kisses Matt.

“Did we do it? I think we did it,” he says.

“Yeah, we did it,” Matt says.

The four of them order pizza, arguing over toppings, and drink beer while they’re sprawled out on top of each other. Danny lounges with his head in Matt’s lap and his feet in Luke’s while Luke wraps his arm around Jess’ shoulders, holding her close. Matt strokes Danny’s hair with his free hand as he finishes his slice of pizza.

“So…who’s going to say it?” says Jess.

“Say what?” says Danny.

“Exactly what the plan is,” she says.

“I didn’t know there was a plan,” says Matt.

“I had sort of a plan,” says Danny.

“I think I know what that was,” teases Luke, his hand resting on Danny’s ankle.

“Yeah, not a huge guess,” says Jess. She pulls herself out of Luke’s embrace, and crawls up Danny’s prone body, until she’s straddling him, leaning down to kiss him.

“Was that the plan?” she says.

“Yeah, pretty much,” says Danny. “Although it also involved Matt and Luke.”

Jess sits back.

“Murdock, you in?” she says.

Matt grins and leans over Danny’s head to kiss her.

“Luke?” he says, when he finishes.

“Just enjoying the show,” says Luke.

“You can do better than that,” Jess says, climbing off of Danny. She tugs her tank top over her head and throws it at Luke’s face, before turning around and walking straight into the bedroom.

“Oh, hell yeah,” Luke says, and he scoops Danny up, throwing him over his shoulder.

“Hey!” yelps Danny, and Luke smacks his ass. Matt is laughing, and Luke grabs his arm and pulls him to his feet. Luke leans down and kisses Matt. “This isn’t fair,” complains Danny.

“You’ll get yours, Rand,” Luke says, starting toward the bedroom, tugging Matt by the arm.

“I better.”

Jess is lying on Danny’s bed, and Luke dumps Danny at her feet.

“Brought you something,” he says.

“Two cute white boys. I’ll take it,” she says.

And then it’s a mess of skin and limbs and negotiating who goes where, and “Don’t break my bed, Jess!” Matt wakes up sandwiched between Luke and Jess, and he murmurs “I love you.”

“Anyone in particular?” Luke murmurs back, tightening his arm around Matt’s chest.

“No,” Matt says. “I meant all of you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Jessica crashing through Luke's window and landing on his fridge might be one of my favourite scenes in comics. I will be sorely disappointed if there is not some version of it somewhere in the Netflix series. :)


End file.
